Collapsible safety gate



Jan. 10, 1950 N. R. GUILBERT, JR 2,493,315

' COLLAPSIBLE SAFETY GATE Filed Feb. 19, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet i INVEN7'01? Fi .2. MCHOL/IS f? 50/419597, JR.

[ATTORNEY Jan. 10, 1950 gu agR'r, in 2,493,815

CQLLAPSIBLE SAFETY GATE Filed. Feb. 19, .1946

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l l l i Jan. 10, 1950 N; R. GUILBERT, JR ce-LLAPsiBLESAFETY GATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 19, 1945' A TTORNE) PatentedJan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE SAFETY GATENicholas-R. Guilbert, Jr., Chestnut Hill, Pa.

Application February 19, 1946, Serial No. 648,788 8- Claims. (Cl. 160-201) This invention relates to collapsible safety gates and especiallyto those for elevators andthe like,;where space is limited and it isdesirable to provide a gate which 'c'anbe compacted into the smallestpossible space to afford a substantially unobstructed passage whenthegate is open, but which is effective as a barrier and protector whenextended to close-the. gateway.

7 Gates intended for'the same general purposes as those to which theinvention relates are now in use, comprisinga plurality of verticallydisposed transversely slidable bars interconnected v by pivoted crosslevers somewhat similar to those used in lazy tongs. But thesegates-embody intri catemechanical' relationships whereby their severalparts move in different directions and" at varying speeds relatively tothe part being directlymanipulated by the operator with consequentlikelihood'of injury to the elevator passengers and delays in operationdue to hands, parcels or other objects being caught in the meshes of thegate as it is opened or closed.

The present invention, therefore, is directed to the provision'of anovel and improved gate comprising a plurality of articulated verticalbars or rods adapted when extended to afiord a substantial barrier for,and. adequate protection to the occupants of, the elevator or the likewith: which it is associated, the gate however being col-- lapsible intoa relatively small space at one side of the entrance where it ofierssubstantially no obstruction to passage through the latter, andalsobeing devoid of objectionable leverage be-' tween its bars creating asource of danger through unexpected movement of the parts while the gateis being opened or closed,

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide animproved safety gate of the aforesaid character affording maximum easeof operation. and devoid of. mechanical parts or motions likely to causepersonal injury while it is being operated.

Another object is to provide a collapsible gate which is simple inconstruction, not likely to get out of order through use and ablereadily to with: stand rough treatment of the nature to which mechanismsof this character are customarily subjected.

Other objects, purposes, advantages of the iii-- vention willhereinafter appear or will be understood from the following descriptionof a pre-. ferred embodiment illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a typical elevator entrance or othersimilar passageway equipped with my improvedgate which is shown aspartly open; Fig'.-2is-a section on line; 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig; 3 is a fragmentary enlarged: front elevation of the gateforeshortened vertically to disclose details: of construction adjacentthe top and bottom of the gate;

Fig. 4' is-a' horizontalsection on line 4-4 in Fig. 3, and Figs. 5, 6and ,7 are respectively vertical sections on lines 5-5,. 6--6 and'l-Jein Fig. 3.

In. the several figures like characters are used to designate the sameparts, and sections are taken in directionzofthearrows on the sectionlines.

Referring now moreparticularly to the drawings, the gate shown thereincomprises in general a plurality of vertical, preferably round, tubularrods of which alternate rods l extendabove and below the ends ofadjacent and shorter intermediate rods 2, for reasons which willhereinafter more fully appear. Thev several rods are respectivelyconnected to and articulated with adjacent rods by a plurality ofcourses of substantially horizontal links3, constructed and disposedwith relation to the rods to aiford capacity for relative motion betweeneach pair thereof about the axis of one of them, the links. also servingto support certain of the rods, not directly carried bythe elevator carstructure, either directly or indirectly from those which are socarried. Toattain this eflect the links 3 connecting the first rod Iwith the first intermediate rod 2, readin from the free edge of thegate, are welded to the former as at W but connected torod 2' in amanner to permit relative movement between the links and rod 2 about itsaxis, While the next group of links 3, connecting the first rod 2, withthe second rod l are. likewise welded as at W to the former but are freeto turn about the axis of the latter, and so on throughout the length ofthe gate. The overlapping relation of thelink, ends which are welded tothe rods with respect to the free orunwelded ends of adjacent links thusproduces a hinge-like structure of. which the rod itself serves as hingepin when the gate is-col-lapsed as: to the left in Fig. l.

The upper end of the first rod l atthe free edge of the gateextendsupwardly between horizontal ways 5,6 in a U-shaped casing whichforms the lintel 'l of the gateway and is supported directly'from theseways through the medium of a pair of links acarried on. trolley wheels9, ill movable along-the' ways A similar trolley ll may be supplied foranother of the rods I at an interval along the horizontal length-of thegate, preferably:

3 for the fourth long rod I from its outer or free edge, and it will beunderstood that additional such trolleys may be provided, .if desired,depending upon the width of the gateway. At the extreme inner edge ofthe gate a fixed rod I is secured at the end of lintel I by anut I2.

The mechanism provided for compacting the gate as 'it is opened isconstructed in such manner that the long rods I are brought together inone file and the intermediate or short 'rods Zf'intoI another filespaced from the first by links 3 con necting the rods, and at the lefthand portion of Fig. 4 a number of the rods and their connecting linksare indicated as thus compacted 'Sl1b r stantially in accordion-likefolds within a region I3 which thus receives the folded gate whenit openand which may be substantially entirely;

enclosed or, as is indicated in the drawings, de-

fined only by enlarged spaces in the li'n'tel "and" sill of the gateway.Conversely, the rods and links are automatically unfolded and drawn outinto the plane of the gateway when edge rod I of the gate is drawn inthe opposite direction toclose the'gate,"a handgrip I4 being provided onsaid rod which the operator may grasp to open or, close the gate. Theaccordion-like folding of the rods and links when the outer edge ofthegate is pushedtoward region I3 is automatically effected by mechanismnow to'be described;

The extremities of rods I which extend-above and belowthe correspondingends of intervening rods 2 may be integral with the rods or, as shown,formed by solid extensions I5 welded to their ends; they extend into thespaces between ways 5, 6 in lintel'l and generally similar ways I6, I!in the sill'I8 of the gateway.

The intermediate rods, 2, being shorter than rods I, do not so extendinto these spaces but carry at theirends eccentric cams movable in otherways 2I, 22 below upper ways 5, 6 and ways 23,24 above the lower waysI6, I'I'. Adjacent the jamb post of the gateway, toward which the gateis compacted when being opened and'forming boundaries of regions I3, aredisposed cam,

surfaces 26, 21 parallel to, but offset inwardly '4 from, the adjacentsurfaces of outer ways and 23 for the intermediate rods 2 I These camsur faces extend longitudinallysubstantially the same distance asenlarged regions I3, andattheir ends remote from jamb post 25 areprovided with an gular surfaces 28, 29 connecting them with the adjacentsurfaces of ways 2| and 23. Thus, as'most clearly illustrated in Fig. 4,when the gate is'pushed progressively toward the left of that figure, aseccentric cams 20 on rods 2 suec'essivelyenga'ge angular surfaces28, 29and then cam surfaces 26,- 21, they are consecutively forcedlaterallyinwardout of the plane of ways'2l'24, and so carry rods 2 outof the plane of the axes of adjacent rods I as indicated by'the positionof rod 2a in said figure. Continued pressure exerted by the operator tourge the gate toward the leftin Fig. 4 then progressively folds links 3to-'- gether about the axes of the several rods to which they areconnected, carrying intermediate rods 2 further inwardly and rearwardlyacross regions I3 away from the plane of rods I, which are constrainedby their ways 5, 6 and I6, I! to remain in the plane of the gateway."Therods I thus move into close proximity with each other instead ofbeing separated by intermediate rods 2 and connected links, as is thecase when the rods and links are extended in substantially the sameplane and thegate is closed; The foldedgate thus occupies very littlespace when retracted 4 from the gateway and afiOI'ds free passagetherethrough.

It will, of course, be apparent that after the gate has been fully orpartially opened in the manner described it may readily be closed bydrawing its outer edge in the opposite direction, rods 2 and links 3automatically assuming extended condition as cams 20 move away from camsurfaces 26- -29 and into the paths formed by guid'e ways 2I- -24. Y ji. Y My invention thus provides a simple and easily operable safety gatefor elevator cabs and the "like which reduces the chance of injury tothe "hands orfingers of the passengers and operator 15 to a minimum forthe reason that as the gate is being opened the rods comprised in itremain in their normally spaced relation until they successively closelyapproach'the side of the gateway; On the contrary, in the gates hithertoin 20 general use the vertical bars, which when the gate 7 is fullyclosed 'are in equidistantly spaced relation; progressively'approacheach other, though in varying amounts, during the whole time the gate isbeing opened-which greatly enhances the danger oflaccident throughinability to quickly enough withdraw a hand orfinger: from between thebars before they close;upon-it. 7

While I have herein described with consider able'par-ticularity oneembodiment of my invenvention'is equally adapted for'employment as-aclosure for many other types and kinds of passageways and openings andmaybeused advantageously therefor; moreover, numerous changes andmodifications in, the form, construction, arrangement, and relationshipof the several parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art andmay be made if desired without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention asidefined' inv the appended claims. -Having thusdescribed my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patentof the United States: V

31. A collapsible gate of the character described comprising a plurality'of substantially similar verticalrods in one series, a pluralit ofmutually substantially similar vertical rodsin-a second seriesalternating with those of the first series, 7 a plurality oflinks-articulately interconnecting 5' the rods, means formingsubstantially parallel ways embracing the ends of the rods of the firstseries, said ends'extending into said ways beyond'the ends of the rodsof the second series, a cam surface disposed adjacent that end of theways remote from the free edge of'the gate when the gate is extended,and a cam carriedby each rod of: the second series operative-to engagethe cam surface when said rods-are moved longitudinally of the ways totherebytranslate said rods outwardly from the ways relatively to therods of'thefi'rstseries. J 5 if 2. A collapsible gate of the characterdescribed comprising two series of vertical fro'ds, the'; rods of oneseries alternating with those of the other, links articulately'interconnecting each rod of one series with an adjacent rod of the otherseries, means forming substantially parallel ways embracing the ends ofthe rods of the first series, the rods of the other series terminatingshort of said ways, a cam surface disposed adjacent that end of each ofthe ways remote from the free edge of the gate when'the gate isextended, and means carried by the rods'of said other series adaptedto'successively engage said cam' surfaces when saidrods are movedprogressively tion suitable for use as an elevator gate, the inalong theWays toward said end thereby to translate the rods of said other serieslaterally from the plane of the ways.

3. In an elevator gateway or the like, means forming substantiallyparallel ways extending transversely of the gateway, a plurality of rodsextending normal to said ways and movable longitudinally thereof,alternate rods extending into and intermediate ones terminating short ofsaid Ways, links interposed between adjacent i rods articulating saidalternate rods with the intermediate rods, and means cooperative withthe alternate rods and disposed in said ways adjacent a jamb of thegateway operative to successively deflect said intermediate rods out ofthe plane of the ways when said intermediate rods are progressivelymoved with the alternate rods along the ways toward said jamb tocollapse the gate.

4. In an elevator gateway or the like, means forming substantiallyparallel ways extending across the lintel and sill of the gateway, aplurality of vertical rods extending into said ways and movablelongitudinally thereof, a plurality of rods terminating short of saidways respectively alternating with the first mentioned rods, linksarticulately interconnecting each of said first mentioned rods with aninterposed shorter rod, and means disposed in said ways adjacent a jambof the gateway operative to successively deflect said shorter rods outof the plane of said ways when the rods are progressively moved towardsaid jamb to collapse the gate.

5. In an elevator gateway or the like, a plurality of substantiallyvertical rods movable in parallel ways, means disposed at the top of theways for supporting certain of said rods, links connecting each rod withan adjacent rod, articulating alternate rods with intermediate rods andadapted to afiord support from the rods depending from said supportingmeans to said adjacent rods, means adjacent one jamb of the gateway formoving said intermediate rods transversely from the plane of said Wayswhen the several rods are moved toward said jamb, and means operative toretain said alternate rods in the plane of said ways during the movementof the intermediate rods out of said plane.

6. In an elevator gateway or the like, a gate comprising a plurality ofsubstantially vertical rods movable in parallel ways, rails defining oneof the ways cooperative with certain of said rods for supporting thegate for movement along the ways, links connecting each of saidsupported rods with an adjacent rod, articulating it with the supportedrods and afiording support from the latter to the former, and meansdisposed adjacent a jamb of the gateway for moving said adjacent rodsout of the plane of the ways during movement of the supported rods insaid plane toward said jamb to collapse the gate of the gateway.

'7. In an elevator gateway or the like, a gate comprising a plurality ofsubstantially vertical rods movable in parallel ways, a pluralit oflinks connecting each of the rods with another thereof for movementrelatively thereto transversely to the rod axis, and means disposedadjacent that end of the ways remote from the free edge of the gate whenthe gate is extended operative to move alternate ones of the rodstransversely of the plane of the ways during movement of other rods insaid plane.

8. In an elevator gateway or the like, a gate comprising a plurality ofelongated gate sections, and means articulating each section with anadjacent section for relative movement about vertical axes, a horizontalrail above the gateway, trolleys movable along the rail respectivelysupporting spaced sections of the gate therefrom, means adjacent onejamb of the gateway remote from the free edge of the gate when extendedfor progressively moving successive sections in opposite directionsabout said axes relatively to adjacent sections as the free edge of thegate is moved toward said jamb to retire it from the gateway, and meansfor moving the sections respectively in reverse directions relatively toadjacent sections when the free edge of the gate is thereafter movedaway from said jamb to obstruct the gateway.

NICHOLAS R. GUILBERT, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 312,380 Pitt Feb. 1'7, 18851,405,485 Gallery Feb. 7, 1922 Certificate of Correction Patent No.2,493,815 January 10, 1950 NICHOLAS R. GUILBERT, JR.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 5, line 45, after the word jamb and before the comma insert tocollapse the gate;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of April, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

